Following weeks of rumors, Democrat Chaz Molder, Mayor of Columbia, announced Thursday he is running against Republican Rep. Andy Ogles in the 2026 race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District.
Molder posted the announcement on his X account, stating “Tennessee! We don’t need to be embarrassed by our Congressman.”
“That’s why I’m launching a different kind of campaign–one that focuses more on making local headlines for the right reasons than national headlines for the wrong ones,” Molder posted.
In his video attached to the X statement, Molder said; “Like so many of you, I’m tired of the division in our politics today. Washington’s chaos is failing all of us. Here in Columbia, we operate with Main Street values where families grow and small businesses thrive.”
Molder added that in Columbia, the community leads with common sense and community pride, two things he says Washington needs.
Earlier this summer, Molder indicated he would not be running for re-election for his mayoral seat in Columbia.
As for Rep. Ogles, this is not the first time he has competed for the fifth congressional district seat. In the 2024 GOP primary Ogles handily defeated Metro Nashville Council member Courtney Johnson. Ogles fundraising challenges continue to make him an attractive target in both the Republican primary and now with Democrat opposition. Nevertheless the district is very “red” and any Democrat will face a severe uphill battle trying to defeat Ogles.
Ogles responded to Molder’s announced challenge saying: “I’m not sure which challenge will be more formidable for Chaz, running against me or running from the wacky policies and disastrous poll numbers of the Democrats in Washington, DC, that he hopes to join.”
“I’m sure he won’t bring the radical, woke, anti-Trump Democrats to the conservative Fifth District to campaign for him,” Ogles noted. “He hides his connections to Hakeem Jeffries, AOC, Ilhan Omar, and other deranged Democrats from the voters in Middle Tennessee. Fortunately, voters in the Fifth District are a lot smarter than he thinks.”
Steve Gill is the editor and Publisher of TriStar Daily
